THE TIPSTER February 7, 2010 IF THERE’S one industry that has not weathered the recession well, it is travel firms. They have suffered from consumers tightening their belts while the weak pound has made Britons even less likely to holiday abroad. But TUI Travel should have benefited from many of its less resilient competitors falling by the wayside. With its [...]
FTSE at lowest level in three months as bank shares drop February 4, 2010 WORRIES about the global economy pushed Britain’s top share index to its lowest close in three months yesterday as spiking risk aversion hammered banks and miners while energy stocks fell on weaker commodity prices. The FTSE 100 ended 113.84 points or 2.2 percent lower at 5,139.31, its lowest close since 5 November, having snapped a [...]
Dow hit by fears over sovereign debt February 4, 2010 THE Dow briefly fell below the crucial 10,000 mark yesterday as stocks suffered their worst losses in more than nine months. Escalating sovereign debt problems in Europe and an unexpected rise in jobless claims put investors on the defensive just ahead of Friday’s crucial payrolls report. Investors dumped banks and commodity-related shares and Wall Street’s [...]
The biker driving ideas in the City February 4, 2010 AFTER spending 10 years talking about the idea of starting his own economic consultancy in the pub with friends and colleagues, Danny Gabay decided to take the plunge. After a road trip around the US in a jeep (he’s also a keen biker), Fathom Consulting, an independent economic and financial market consultancy, was born. Gabay [...]
Paternity leave threat to firms February 4, 2010 FOR years employers have been wary about giving jobs to women of child-bearing age, but they might soon be casting nervous glances at the males in their offices, too. As of 6 April next year a father will be allowed to take up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave in the first year of their [...]
Q&A CHOOSING A NAME February 4, 2010 Q. I’ve got a great idea for a business, but I’m struggling to find a name. How do I go about it? A.The first step is to look at the nature of the service you are providing and use that as a way to come up with conceptual themes, says David Haigh, CEO of Brand [...]
Copper will remain strong in 2010 despite Chinese policy tightening February 3, 2010 CASTING an eye back over 2009, copper was clearly one of the standout performers. Its price has risen 126 per cent over the past year, fueled by rising expectations about the global economy, China regaining its voracious appetite for industrial metals and a weakening US dollar increasing copper’s attractiveness (it is priced in dollars). After [...]
USE COVERED WARRANTS TO TRADE GOLD February 3, 2010 A RALLY in the price of gold towards the end of 2009 began speculation that the commodity downturn was over and fuelled the belief that the financial markets were starting to recover. Now, after growing a mere 0.1 per cent in the last three months of December 2009, the UK economy has officially crawled its [...]
FTSE falls ahead of BoE decision February 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index lost 0.6 per cent, snapping a three-session winning streak with investors turning cautious ahead of today’s Bank of England monetary policy decision and Friday’s US jobs report. At yesterday’s close, the FTSE 100 index was 30.16 points lower at 5,253.15 after a see-saw session, having reversed from an intraday peak of [...]
Dow hit by healthcare concerns February 3, 2010 US stocks mostly fell yesterday as Pfizer’s disappointing outlook weighed on the health sector, and President Barack Obama’s pledge to complete banking and healthcare reform revived fears of increased regulation. Obama reiterated his commitment to overhaul the healthcare system and impose stricter regulatory reforms on Wall Street, underscoring the political risk that has driven US [...]